1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an upsetting press for the reduction of rolled material, particularly for reducing the slab width in hot-rolled wide strip breaking-down trains. The upsetting press includes tool carriers which are arranged on both sides of the slab edges and include pressing tools which can be moved in the direction of slab reduction by means of a crank drive arranged in a crank housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an upsetting press disclosed in German patent application P 39 17 398.4, for reducing the width of slabs in a hot-rolled wide strip breaking-down train, pressing tools are arranged on both sides of the slab edges, wherein the pressing tools are mounted in tool carriers. For forming a reduction drive, each pressing tool is moved together with the corresponding tool carrier in the direction of the width reduction of the slab by means of a lever system actuated by a crank drive, wherein the crank drive is arranged in a crank housing. The crank drive is composed of two driven eccentric shafts, wherein a connecting member is mounted on each eccentric shaft, and wherein the head of the connecting member is connected to the tool carrier for transmitting the upsetting forces. A feed drive operating essentially in slab feeding direction acts on the tool carrier.
The features described above make it possible to separately control the sequence of movement of the pressing tools for the pressing action for reducing the slabs and for the feeding movement of the pressing tools, so that for any chosen feeding distance, a synchronization of the movement of the pressing tools with the movement of the slab to be pressed laterally is insured. This upsetting press makes possible the continuous reduction of the width of the slab to values predetermined by rolling technology. Upsetting presses of this size are capable of reducing in only one pass a slab having a width of about 2100 mm and a thickness of about 265 mm by up to 300 mm. Because of the high upsetting pressing forces of up to 30 MN and under the influence of heat, the horizontal upsetting stand must be able to expand without exerting forces on the foundation. In addition, the crank housing from which the pressing forces are introduced into the slab may not move during the pressing procedure in its guiding play, so that a desired width tolerance of the reduced slab can be ensured with high edge quality even in continuous operation.